Ackles v. United States Congress

Opinion

FILED

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DEC _ 2 2013 C|erk. U.S. Distrlct & Bankruptcy

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Coufts for the Dlstrlct of Columbla

)

MONEEK M. ACKLES, ) )

Plaintiff, )

v ) Civil Action No. /_?" / 7

UNITED STATES CONGRESS, et al., ) )

Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’ s application to proceed in forma pauperis and his pro se complaint. The application will be granted, and the complaint will be dismissed.

Plaintiff allegedly is "deprived of his liberty by the State of Alabama for a conviction of capital murder, with a sentence of life without parole in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United Sates Constitution." Compl. at 6 (page numbers designated by the Court). Because he "has once filed in the United States District [Court] a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus," id, he is barred from pursuing "a second habeas corpus petition unless he gains permission from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals pursuant to [28 U.S.C. § 2244(b)]." Ia'. at 7. According to plaintiff, this provision is unconstitutional and deprives him of a means to seek relief from his conviction. See generally ia’. at 7-l0. His claim is doomed to fail, however,

because the restrictions set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2244(b) "do not amount to a suspension of the

writ [of habeas corpus]." Felker v. Turpz`n, 518 U.S. 65l, 664 (l996) (internal quotation marks omitted).

An Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.

DATE!W h j s1 alia \/<,-,,a;/

United States District Judge